Goodbye New Jersey; Hello Minnesota

Martin Griff / The TimesThat's a view of the New Jersey Turnpike as we took off from Newark Liberty International Airport.

Today Skiwidow and I flew from Newark to Duluth, Minn., with a stopover at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

After a two hour drive north along Lake Superior from Duluth, we arrived at Lutsen Mountains Resort, which later this week will be hosting The North American Snowsports Association annual conference.

Martin Griff / The TimesSomewhere between New Jersey and Minnesota.

To be honest, most people who bother to get on a plane to ski or snowboard would not head to Lutsen and its 986 feet of vertical. But here on the North Shore of Lake Superior the people love and embrace winter. Skiing is just part of the experience. Tomorrow Skiwidow and I will be sampling that experience with a two day snowmobiling trip.

Martin Griff / The TimesFlying over St. Paul, Minn., where Route 694 crosses over the Mississippi River.

Martin Griff / The TimesFlying into Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Those fuel storage tanks at the bottom of the photo made us feel like we were back at Newark Liberty.

For some background on this trip, here is a December 20, 2007 column I wrote for the Times of Trenton:

More than skiing to experience in Lusten

So why would a person travel halfway across the country to ski at a mountain of 986 vertical feet in Lutsen, Minn.?

That's the question many members of the North American Snowsports Journalists Association (NASJA) asked themselves when they heard about the site of their annual general meeting in March 2009. NASJA has been holding annual meetings since 1963, usually at big-name resorts with a story to tell. Most meetings have taken place in the West, because planners believed that Easterners will travel west for big-mountain experiences, but Westerners aren't as likely to leave their powder and huge mountain ranges for the often icy East Coast.

NASJA is made up of three regions, East, West and Midwest, and the NASJA board of directors occasionally throws Eastern resorts a meeting bone -- in 2003 the meeting was held in the Charlevoix region of eastern Canada, and in March 2008, the meeting will be held at the legendary Mount Washington Hotel in Bretton Woods, N.H.

The NASJA board never seriously considered a meeting in the Midwest until Lutsen Mountains put in an impressive bid to hold it at its resort on the north coast of Lake Superior. Lutsen Mountains and NASJA officials realized it would be a tough sell to coax press and corporate members from either coast to attend. The NASJA board holds its interim meeting early in the winter season at the site of the following season's general meeting. In addition to conducting the business that keeps the organization afloat, the board test-drives the itinerary of the future meeting. As a representative from the East, I made my way to Lutsen last week via flights to Minneapolis and Duluth, and a two-hour shuttle ride along Bob Dylan's Highway 61. Lutsen Mountains marketing director Jim Vick put together our jam-packed agenda.

With Vick as leader, we poked through snow on the Onion River to find ice thick enough to traverse, and we bushwhacked for two miles on a three-hour snowshoeing hike. Despite Vick's guidance, my feet, covered in 10-inch-tall waterproof boots, went through the ice twice. No problem, except that the river water was about 12 inches deep. Later in the season, when the ice has had a chance to thicken, people cross-country ski down the many rivers that lead to Lake Superior.

Our group met with Arleigh Jorgenson, owner/operator of Sled Dog Adventures, for a behind-the-scenes peek at his life with 100 dogs. Dogsled rides are a popular choice for those visiting the North Coast, and Jorgenson's dedication to his dogs guarantees a great experience.

We toured the North House Folk School in the folksy village of Grand Marais, where, for 10 years, instructors have been teaching hundreds of traditional Northern crafts in courses that last from one day to one week. We dined with Mark Hansen, a local boat builder who offers courses in ski making and kayak building. A course of several days with Hansen and a beautiful (depending on your skills) set of skis to take home is reason enough for a journey to the shores of Lake Superior.

For Seattle-based writer John Naye and me, a highlight was the 38-mile snowmobile adventure led by Larry McNeally and Louise Abelon. Although it's possible to rent a snowmobile in Grand Marais, organized tours are not provided. Members of local snowmobile clubs often volunteer to help out the tourists; McNeally and Abelon took us on the ride of our lives.

Many residents of northern Minnesota have Scandinavian roots. Winter is in their blood and they embrace it. To the people of the North Coast, a snowstorm is a reason to celebrate the outdoors rather than an excuse to complain and plan for retirement in Florida.

So, what about the skiing? Lutsen Mountains has 90 trails spread across four mountain peaks and 1,000 skiable acres, including 60 acres of tree skiing runs. It would be a major player if it were located in Pennsylvania's Poconos or New York's Catskill region. Alone on the north coast of Lake Superior, Lutsen Mountains doesn't provide enough of a skiing or riding experience to satisfy most East or West Coasters who are willing to fly to a snowsliding destination. But Lutsen Mountains is not alone. There are plenty of off-mountain activities to make for a wonderful Midwestern adventure.